I Have a Dentist!

People who know me know that I have a near-phobia-level fear of dentistry. There are huge chunks of my life - years long - that have been dentist-free, and NOT because I have great teeth...

Well, I had a great dentist in California, but since we began our slow move to Costa Rica, I have only been a couple of times - and those were more in the first couple of years. So, it took losing a filling here to make a call, and find a new dentist. I was very lucky - Rick had already been to this guy, and he had kept his eye out for whether he would work for me too. I called about a week ago for an appointment, and since I had no pain, and also had school finals coming up, I was happy to wait a bit to see the dentist :-|.

Today, I walked (yes, walked! he's very close.) to the dentist. I spent about 15 minutes filling out new-patient forms, then an entire hour with the hygienist. She was very careful around the lost filling site, and watched for my signs indicating pain or a need to spit. She used both the electric cleaning thing (a symptom of my phobia, I guess - I can't remember what it's called), and manual scraping. Got a thorough cleaning and polish, followed by a fluoride treatment.

Then Dr. Jimenez came in and introduced himself. He listened to my fears (thankfully by now I know exactly what scares me, and what I need from a dentist to alleviate those fears). He explained exactly what he would do. He asked about any problems, did the exam, and gave me the choice of returning for the filling or doing it right then. I opted for the latter - do it while you have the courage, right?

Throughout the entire procedure, he did exactly what I needed, and explained as he went. He even avoided using the word "shot" (fear #1)! I got a triple-level of numbing - a topical, then a "dot" (eyes closed, so I don't know exactly what that entailed), then the final "numbing" (aka the afore-un-mentioned shot). I got x-rays in between the two final stages - and managed to dribble on the bib ;-S.

Between the first two numbing stages, he polished the edge off another filling that had a small chip. He was very careful to explain that I wouldn't feel any pain, and was surprised that the drill wasn't one of my fears. Something like 85% of people fear the drill and/or the sound of the drill.

On top of the hour of cleaning, I spent another hour with my new dentist. I am so happy to finally get back on a dental schedule! I told him - and I meant it - that he is the third dentist in my entire life that I trust. I know exactly who I will go to if I have a tooth problem!

Welcome back to California - medical bills!

Welcome back to California - here are your medical bills - yikes!

We had a busy week going to dentists and doctors. I will say right up front, I would not even consider going to any other dentist or doctor in the states - ours are great! However, this is a pure illustration of the differences in the cost of health care between California and Costa Rica.

Cost for a thorough teeth-cleaning, exam, and x-rays:
California = $255
Costa Rica = $90

Cost for a filling - composite:
California = $250 (plus $115 for happy gas and topical numbing, 'cause I'm a baby)
Costa Rica = $50 (as reported by Saratica)

The same week, Rick went to the Doctor for a sinus problem, and came away with three prescriptions for almost $300. We're waiting for the bill from the Doctor, but I am sure it will be over $100. The last time we saw a Doctor in Costa Rica, the office visit was $12.

And people wonder why medical tourism is taking off...

December 18, 2007 - Day Trip to San Pedro

Yesterday, Rick had a dentist appointment in San Pedro, so we thought we´d make an afternoon of it. Good thing we planned to be gone so long, I guess...

We started out trying to take the express bus to UCR (the University of Costa Rica is located in San Pedro, and San Pedro is on the far side of San José). They had just changed the schedule because finals were last week, so we found out that the first bus wasn´t even scheduled until noon! We got there by 11:40, and figured that wouldn´t be too long a wait. Well, by ten after, others were giving up, and so did we. We went to the bus station to San José, caught the direct bus and were in San José soon after. We decided to get lunch at a soda we know, and were done eating (I think we wolfed it down) by a bit after 1:00. Then (yikes!) we had to get across town – we went back to Paseo Colón and waited for the periferica (the intrabus system we knew would get us to UCR). Well, we just missed one, and the next one just whizzed by (arg!). We finally decided to ask a fellow traveler which bus he would recommend to get to San Pedro. He said to catch one to the center of San José, then catch one from there to San Pedro. We were just about to take his advice, when the next periferica bus came by (and stopped for us!). Whew! We got to San Pedro, then it looked like the bus would go right by Mall San Pedro (our ultimate destination), so we stayed on past UCR. Well, there is a huge, nasty traffic circle right where Mall San Pedro is – it has about 6 entrance/exits, all multi-lane. AND our bus went right on past the mall, and onto the freeway. We frantically buzzed to stop the bus, and he finally did stop – at a bus stop ON the freeway! We got off, and walked back towards the mall. This was not too bad until we got to the afore-mentioned traffic circle (traffic circle of death, I should say). We got past two of the entrance/exits, but at the final one, Rick said ¨this is suicide!¨ And I agreed! Well, we got across. Without dying. We *did* notice that on THE OTHER SIDE, there was a sign that said walking across there was prohibited – hmmm.

It is now 3:00 – 3 ½ hours after starting our trip. And Rick still has a dentist drill to look forward to :(. Well, we´re at a mall, so we look around a bit, get some coffee (yum!), and look for a phone to get our final instructions. This is starting to feel like the amazing race… We find a phone, but it doesn´t take coins (cards only). We ask a fellow standing in line, and he said there was a coin phone outside. So we go outside, find the phone,… And it doesn´t take our coins! It is supposed to, but it doesn´t! So, we go back inside the mall and buy a phone card (not bad, you can get them for as little as c500 - $1). Then back outside, wait in line for the phone, and call. Our dentist says to go through the mall, out the back, and he will meet us. That was amazingly kind; I don´t think we would have found his office on our own (next time, yes).

Our dental visit was amazing! Rick filled out a form while we talked, and we got to know each other for quite a while. Then they decided to take an x-ray to make sure he really needed work done. So no drilling today :).

Our trip back to Alajuela was much nicer. We caught a taxi at about 6:00, got the direct bus to Alajuela by 6:35, and were at Jalapeño´s in Alajuela for dinner by 7:30. Whew!